What the 2022 raise was and who received it
In October 2021, the Social Security Administration announced an 5.9% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for 2022 — the largest increase in nearly four decades. This meant that starting in January 2022, everyone receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) saw their monthly payment go up by that percentage. If you were receiving SSDI in January 2022, your check increased automatically; you did not have to do anything to receive it.
The 2022 COLA affected not only SSDI beneficiaries but also people on Supplemental Security Income (SSI), retirees on Social Security, and family members receiving benefits on a worker's record. The raise was tied to inflation — specifically, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) measured from the third quarter of 2020 to the third quarter of 2021.
The exact dollar amount of the increase depended on what you were receiving before January 2022. Someone getting $1,000 per month would have received roughly $59 more per month starting in January. Someone getting $1,500 would have received roughly $89 more. The percentage was the same for everyone, but the dollar amount varied based on your individual benefit amount.
Key Takeaways
- The 2022 COLA of 5.9% increased all SSDI payments automatically in January 2022 with no action required from beneficiaries.
- The raise was based on inflation measured between the third quarter of 2020 and the third quarter of 2021.
- Family members receiving benefits on your record also received the same percentage increase to their payments.
- The 2022 raise did not change the rules for work incentives, Medicare coverage, or how much you could earn while working.
How the COLA is calculated each year
Congress does not vote on the COLA each year. Instead, the Social Security Administration calculates it automatically using a formula set by law. The formula compares the Consumer Price Index for the third quarter of the previous year to the third quarter of the current year. If prices have gone up, beneficiaries receive a raise. If prices have stayed flat or fallen, there is no COLA — though this has happened only three times since automatic COLAs began in 1975.
The Social Security Administration announces the COLA for the following year in October. This gives the agency time to reprogram payment systems and gives beneficiaries time to plan. The raise takes effect on the first day of the month following the announcement — in 2022, that was January 1.
The COLA applies to your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is the benefit amount you were may have access to to at your full retirement age or at the time you became disabled. If you are receiving a reduced benefit because you started SSDI before your full retirement age, or if you are a family member receiving a percentage of the worker's benefit, the COLA still applies to your current payment amount.
What changed and what stayed the same after the 2022 raise
The 2022 COLA increased your monthly payment, but it did not change the rules for how much you could earn while working. The Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) limit — the earnings threshold above which Social Security considers you able to work — remained at $1,350 per month for non-blind workers and $2,260 for blind workers in 2022. This limit does change each year based on wage growth, but it is set separately from the COLA.
Your Medicare coverage also did not change. If you had been on SSDI for 24 months, you remained covered by Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) and Part B (medical insurance) regardless of the raise. The raise did not affect your Medicare premiums or coverage rules.
The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) federal benefit rate also increased by 5.9% in 2022, but the rules around how much you could have in savings, what counted as income, and how much you could earn before losing benefits remained the same. If you were receiving both SSDI and SSI, both payments increased.
How the 2022 raise compared to previous years
The 5.9% COLA for 2022 was historically large. From 2009 to 2021, the average annual COLA was about 1.4%. In 2021, there was no COLA at all. In 2020, the COLA was 1.3%. The 2022 raise reflected rapid inflation in 2021 and early 2022, driven by pandemic-related supply chain disruptions, increased demand for goods, and rising energy prices.
After 2022, the COLA fell sharply. The 2023 COLA was 8.7% — even larger than 2022 — because inflation continued to rise through 2022. The 2024 COLA was 3.2%, and the 2025 COLA was 2.5%, as inflation cooled. Each year's COLA reflects the specific inflation measured in that year's calculation period, so there is no way to predict future raises with certainty.
Why the 2022 raise mattered for your budget
For someone receiving $1,200 per month in SSDI, the 5.9% raise meant an additional $71 per month, or about $852 per year. For someone receiving $2,000 per month, it meant an additional $118 per month, or about $1,416 per year. These amounts were modest but real, especially for people living on a fixed income where every dollar matters.
The raise also affected family members. If your child or spouse was receiving benefits based on your SSDI record, their payment increased by the same percentage. This meant that a family receiving $2,500 per month total across multiple beneficiaries would have received an additional $148 per month starting in January 2022.
The 2022 raise did not, however, keep pace with inflation for everyone. While the COLA was 5.9%, inflation continued to rise through 2022, reaching 8.7% by October. This meant that the purchasing power of SSDI payments still declined in real terms during 2022, even though the nominal dollar amount went up.
How to find your 2022 payment amount
If you received SSDI in January 2022, your payment stub or your online account at ssa.gov showed the new amount. You can view your payment history and current benefit amount by logging into your my Social Security account at ssa.gov. If you do not have an account, you can create one using your email address and Social Security number.
If you need a written record of your 2022 benefit amount — for example, to show to a landlord, a lender, or a government program — you can request a benefit verification letter from Social Security. You can order this letter online through your my Social Security account, by phone at 1-800-772-1213, or in person at your local Social Security office.
If you believe your 2022 payment was incorrect, you can contact Social Security to request a review. Keep in mind that the COLA is applied uniformly to all beneficiaries, so errors are rare, but they do happen. Social Security can explain how your specific benefit amount was calculated.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did the 2022 raise affect my Medicare premiums?
No. Your Medicare Part B premium is set separately from your SSDI payment. However, Social Security has a "hold harmless" rule that prevents your Medicare Part B premium from increasing more than your COLA increase. In 2022, this rule protected many beneficiaries from a large premium increase.
If I started SSDI after January 2022, did I get the 2022 raise?
No. The COLA applies to your benefit amount as of the month you start receiving SSDI. If you started in March 2022 or later, your initial benefit amount reflected the 2022 COLA, but you did not receive a separate raise. You will receive the next COLA in January 2023.
Does the 2022 raise count as income for SSI or other programs?
No. The COLA is not counted as new income. Your SSDI payment is treated the same way before and after the raise for purposes of SSI, Medicaid, housing information, and other means-tested programs. The raise does not change your countable income.
What if I was in a work incentive program like IRWE or Plan to Achieve Self-Support?
The 2022 raise did not change how work incentives function. If you were using Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWE) or a Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS) to reduce your countable earnings, those rules remained the same. Your SSDI payment increased, but the thresholds and rules for work incentives did not.